PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

There’s construction equipment, fencing, a crew, and a big hole in the ground at 40th and Pine. Anyone know what’s going on here? I know Penn has tried to partner on a project here in the past to no avail. Given the near completion of the Trolley Portal Gardens, however, it would seem like the right time for development.

It's this:

400 South 40th Street

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

It's this:

400 South 40th Street

Looks like another Penn masterpiece! Another example of why stucco should require a special permit, a permit to build ugly.

[Daario]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

It's this:

400 South 40th Street

I understand their need for density, but that beautiful white mansion being destroyed for this is honestly a crime.

[Urbanthusiat]

Originally Posted by Daario

I understand their need for density, but that beautiful white mansion being destroyed for this is honestly a crime.

It wasn't beautiful anymore. It used to be, but was mutilated beyond repair when it was turned into a nasty nursing home where people were severely mistreated. I happen to live right at this corner and I'm glad that I'll have something else to look at.

[City Wide]

Originally Posted by Urbanthusiat

It wasn't beautiful anymore. It used to be, but was mutilated beyond repair when it was turned into a nasty nursing home where people were severely mistreated. I happen to live right at this corner and I'm glad that I'll have something else to look at.

IMO---the issue of why Penn demoed the mansion is completely separate from why they are building something as bad as this. There's no way this fits into the context of the surrounding neighborhood. If it looks this bad as a drawing then when its built it will be even worse.
The only positive is that I'm forced to admit this is better design then most of the other apartments going up in UC.

[kingtut]

HAD TROUBLE UP LOADING PHOTO .Will try later

[jsbrook]

I don't subscribe so don't have details, but potential office move to the City.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...th-street.html

Good stuff.

[jsbrook]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

I don't subscribe so don't have details, but potential office move to the City.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...th-street.html

Good stuff.

And damn. This company has more than 1,600 employees (though not sure how many at headquarters)!

http://www.insideradio.com/the-new-e...0dccaa651.html

Would be a nice score!

[Boku]

Originally Posted by jsbrook

I don't subscribe so don't have details, but potential office move to the City.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...th-street.html

Good stuff.

Go back one page, I posted it.

[PhilliesPhan]

Has anyone been around North Philly lately? Parts of it are developing like crazy! I took a walk from Templetown to Center City and noticed three distinct clusters of development:

1.) This has been covered, but North Broad is changing like crazy! Certain blocks are changing faster than others, but the entire roadway between Center City and Temple is becoming a much more pleasant and lively stretch. The 700 block (between Wallace and Ridge) is the most exciting one of them all.

2.) Ridge Avenue is undergoing a significant building boom! Between Broad and Girard, almost ever parcel fronting Ridge is either under construction/renovation, is in site prep, or has a for sale sign. Within the next few years, I expect Ridge Avenue to be the next hot commercial strip. I'm excited to see whether new retail will pop up northwest of Girard (up to Cecil B. Moore) and southeast of Broad (to Spring Garden and beyond, especially with 1300 Fairmount proposed).

3.) The southern extremity of Templetown has a LOT of new homes popping up! I consider the area between Broad, Girard, Ridge, and Master to be a particularly uncharted territory that isn't a heavily student-populated area. There are also a lot of vacant homes and parcels within this stretch. This is quickly changing, especially along the side streets (Seybert, Ingresoll, Floral, etc.). It seems like development is spilling over from Francisville, as these new homes don't seem as though they're student housing. It will be exciting not only to see the Girard stop on the BSL increase in ridership, but also to see more young professionals living in Templetown.

Other noteworthy North Philly developments:
-The entire 1900 block of N. 9th Street (between Montgomery and Berks) is being filled in with new housing.
-There are two new homes going up on Diamond Street: one on the 1400 block, and one on the 1800 block.
-Development from South Kensington has really infiltrated Ludlow. On my walk back, I saw new homes popping up as far as 8th and Jefferson!
-Anyone who is a current student/went to Temple knows about the yellow-stuccoed building on 17th and Cecil B. Moore, aka the Columbia Deli. That building is about to be torn down. In its place will be a four-story building with ground floor retail.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Has anyone been around North Philly lately? Parts of it are developing like crazy! I took a walk from Templetown to Center City and noticed three distinct clusters of development:

1.) This has been covered, but North Broad is changing like crazy! Certain blocks are changing faster than others, but the entire roadway between Center City and Temple is becoming a much more pleasant and lively stretch. The 700 block (between Wallace and Ridge) is the most exciting one of them all.

2.) Ridge Avenue is undergoing a significant building boom! Between Broad and Girard, almost ever parcel fronting Ridge is either under construction/renovation, is in site prep, or has a for sale sign. Within the next few years, I expect Ridge Avenue to be the next hot commercial strip. I'm excited to see whether new retail will pop up northwest of Girard (up to Cecil B. Moore) and southeast of Broad (to Spring Garden and beyond, especially with 1300 Fairmount proposed).

3.) The southern extremity of Templetown has a LOT of new homes popping up! I consider the area between Broad, Girard, Ridge, and Master to be a particularly uncharted territory that isn't a heavily student-populated area. There are also a lot of vacant homes and parcels within this stretch. This is quickly changing, especially along the side streets (Seybert, Ingresoll, Floral, etc.). It seems like development is spilling over from Francisville, as these new homes don't seem as though they're student housing. It will be exciting not only to see the Girard stop on the BSL increase in ridership, but also to see more young professionals living in Templetown.

Other noteworthy North Philly developments:
-The entire 1900 block of N. 9th Street (between Montgomery and Berks) is being filled in with new housing.
-There are two new homes going up on Diamond Street: one on the 1400 block, and one on the 1800 block.
-Development from South Kensington has really infiltrated Ludlow. On my walk back, I saw new homes popping up as far as 8th and Jefferson!
-Anyone who is a current student/went to Temple knows about the yellow-stuccoed building on 17th and Cecil B. Moore, aka the Columbia Deli. That building is about to be torn down. In its place will be a four-story building with ground floor retail.

Awesome.

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by Daario

I understand their need for density, but that beautiful white mansion being destroyed for this is honestly a crime.

And if you know anything about the long sordid history of that parcel, it's even more of a travesty. At one point Penn offered a proposal that preserved the mansion, but the NIMBYs were absolutely intractable about their vision for the site (one which is grounded in complete and utter fantasy, economically speaking) and so eventually forced Penn's hand. Complete and total breakdown of communications and a lack of compromise destroyed that Italianate more than anything else.

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

Has anyone been around North Philly lately? Parts of it are developing like crazy! I took a walk from Templetown to Center City and noticed three distinct clusters of development:

1.) This has been covered, but North Broad is changing like crazy! Certain blocks are changing faster than others, but the entire roadway between Center City and Temple is becoming a much more pleasant and lively stretch. The 700 block (between Wallace and Ridge) is the most exciting one of them all.

2.) Ridge Avenue is undergoing a significant building boom! Between Broad and Girard, almost ever parcel fronting Ridge is either under construction/renovation, is in site prep, or has a for sale sign. Within the next few years, I expect Ridge Avenue to be the next hot commercial strip. I'm excited to see whether new retail will pop up northwest of Girard (up to Cecil B. Moore) and southeast of Broad (to Spring Garden and beyond, especially with 1300 Fairmount proposed).

3.) The southern extremity of Templetown has a LOT of new homes popping up! I consider the area between Broad, Girard, Ridge, and Master to be a particularly uncharted territory that isn't a heavily student-populated area. There are also a lot of vacant homes and parcels within this stretch. This is quickly changing, especially along the side streets (Seybert, Ingresoll, Floral, etc.). It seems like development is spilling over from Francisville, as these new homes don't seem as though they're student housing. It will be exciting not only to see the Girard stop on the BSL increase in ridership, but also to see more young professionals living in Templetown.

Other noteworthy North Philly developments:
-The entire 1900 block of N. 9th Street (between Montgomery and Berks) is being filled in with new housing.
-There are two new homes going up on Diamond Street: one on the 1400 block, and one on the 1800 block.
-Development from South Kensington has really infiltrated Ludlow. On my walk back, I saw new homes popping up as far as 8th and Jefferson!
-Anyone who is a current student/went to Temple knows about the yellow-stuccoed building on 17th and Cecil B. Moore, aka the Columbia Deli. That building is about to be torn down. In its place will be a four-story building with ground floor retail.

Great news.

Random question -- why haven't we seen any development spread immediately to the east of Temple's campus? I would think with the close proximity of the Regional Rail that we would see more happening there at this point. I hope we see Germantown Ave boom like what we are seeing on Ridge.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

Great news.

Random question -- why haven't we seen any development spread immediately to the east of Temple's campus? I would think with the close proximity of the Regional Rail that we would see more happening there at this point. I hope we see Germantown Ave boom like what we are seeing on Ridge.

Believe it or not, there has been some action going on up there. New student housing just went up at 9th and Norris over the summer. AFAIK, student housing exists as far back as the 1900 block of N. 7th Street (between Berks and Norris). As a Temple student, I still think there's still a perception that the areas north and east of campus are dangerous. There are also others factors to consider, such as the lack of a significant mass of students, an absence of retail, and generally quieter streets due to the low-density PHA housing.

The area east of campus is booming with new construction for young professionals though! The energy from South Kensington is continuing to push north. A few weeks ago, I noticed a permit on a large lot at 5th and Norris. There was also some construction by 7th and Diamond. Imo, I think it's another 3-7 years out, but I can see Germantown Ave. (at least south of 6th/Dauphin) becoming a vibrant mixed-use corridor. Even with all of this development, that area lacks a significant retail corridor. Germantown Ave. would be a perfect candidate to fill that void!

[Parkway]

Part of it is that the low density PHA housing creates a wall of sorts. If the average Temple Student has class at 13th and Berks (Polett Walk) 9th and Norris is the only area that really makes sense distance wise. Once you're at 7th and Diamond you are 7 blocks from class, a radius which includes a ton of apartments in a more established area.

[ScreamShatter]

Originally Posted by Parkway

Part of it is that the low density PHA housing creates a wall of sorts. If the average Temple Student has class at 13th and Berks (Polett Walk) 9th and Norris is the only area that really makes sense distance wise. Once you're at 7th and Diamond you are 7 blocks from class, a radius which includes a ton of apartments in a more established area.

I get that, but isn't there housing development as far out as 21st-22nd st off Temple's campus. That's the same distance, if not more.

I think the biggest problem is the public housing. There's way too much of it concentrated in North Philly. They should spread it out throughout the city more.

[Parkway]

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

I get that, but isn't there housing development as far out as 21st-22nd st off Temple's campus. That's the same distance, if not more.

I think the biggest problem is the public housing. There's way too much of it concentrated in North Philly. They should spread it out throughout the city more.

At least when I graduated a few years ago the student housing stopped pretty abruptly after the 1900 block on east-west streets. There was more growth to the north and to the south than further west. Again the issue is that you start to run into public or other low income housing.

[hammersklavier]

Most HOPE IV housing is owner-occupied.

I absolutely agree that the random HOPE IV tracts scattered throughout lower North Philly create subtle walls of Midwest-density urbanization in our cozy Northeast rowhome city, and of course it's subsidized housing, but let's not pretend that most of it is PHA schlock (though, of course, some of it is ... here's looking at you, Allen Hole!) either. There have been places where student apartments have taken out HOPE IV twins, as well. But the key here is that the properties along e.g. the 1900 block of Harlan, ugly as they are, are still owner-occupied which means that they'll end up changing with the times over time. That's something you can't really say about sites like the Allen Hole which have to get updated all at once and so will remain a blighting influence long after the West Poplar twins, for example, get thought of as a nice place to live.

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by ScreamShatter

I get that, but isn't there housing development as far out as 21st-22nd st off Temple's campus. That's the same distance, if not more.

I think the biggest problem is the public housing. There's way too much of it concentrated in North Philly. They should spread it out throughout the city more.

I know students who live as far west as 22nd Street, as far north as Cumberland, and as far east as 8th. If I had the money, I'd purchase properties west of 20th Street right now: land values are still cheap, students are willing to live further away from campus for cheaper rent, and it's still about a 5 minute bike ride to campus.

North Philly's public housing is definitely a problem, and I think that it will need to be deconcentrated at some point. I'm not against public housing, but I am against an agency building low-density public housing and thereby destroying the urban fabric when it has a "years long" waiting list. Many of the complexes in North Philly (especially the one northwest of 22nd and Diamond) need to be razed, and more mixed-income units need to become available.

Originally Posted by Parkway

At least when I graduated a few years ago the student housing stopped pretty abruptly after the 1900 block on east-west streets. There was more growth to the north and to the south than further west. Again the issue is that you start to run into public or other low income housing.

I'm a current student (albeit a senior), and I live between 19th and 20th on an east-west street. The wall of public housing between 20th, 21st, Berks, and Diamond definitely complicates students moving out further west. The "Homeownership Zone" of detached housing between 19th, 20th, Cecil B. Moore, and Montgomery also makes that area feel usually dead. These distinctive dead zones make students feel unsafe, especially given the fact that the lighting in the neighborhood is terrible. I couldn't believe that someone said that she was scared to live on Bouvier until I took a closer look at the lighting situation out there.

I mentioned this earlier, but one huge (but often overlooked) issue with living east of the tracks is the distinct lack of a retail corridor. Those that live west of the tracks can pick up essentials not only along North Broad, but also Cecil B. Moore, Diamond, and Susuquehanna. Students living east of the tracks only have the drug store in Paseo Verde and the new pizza shop at 10th and Diamond. It's not something one really considers until they've lived in an area for a while. It's definitely a regret I have about renting west of 19th. Parties are another big reason. The big party streets are all west of Broad, along with Park Avenue to a lesser extent.

[Urbanthusiat]

Tidbits from Pennovation Center - continuing to do good things for our city.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services announced today that COSY (Cognitive Operational Systems, LLC,) has moved into 2412 sq. ft. in the Pennovation Works Office Building, having outgrown their Inventor Garage in the Pennovation Center.

COSY, a spinoff of Penn's GRASP Laboratory, was co-founded in 2014 by Jonas Cleveland and Kostas Daniilidis, PhD, for leveraging research to develop industry products in artificial intelligence. COSY’s success has necessitated a move to larger space, found nearby in the Office Building. By remaining on the Pennovation Works campus, COSY can continue to participate in the collaborative, creative community that has grown there over the past year.

https://www.pennovation.upenn.edu/ne...novation-works

The University of Pennsylvania’s Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services announced today that Automation Research Group (ARG) has signed a lease for a combined office and lab space of just over 500 sq. ft. in the Pennovation Works Office Building, a recently renovated building on the 23-acre site adjacent to the University’s main campus.

Founded in 2005 by Madhu Annapragada, Ph.D., ARG is a small company designing embedded systems, with a focus on developing products that could be used for remote monitoring in cities of the future. Annapragada describes them as “systems that will let cities use the existing power lines to communicate with sensors, lights and other equipment without the need for installation of any new wired or wireless infrastructure.” More about this in-progress system can be found at powerlinesys.com.

https://www.pennovation.upenn.edu/ne...novation-works

And a nice video here about the redevelopment and long-term vision for the "Lower Schuylkill Innovation District" collaboration between Penn and PIDC. Worth a watch. There's some great stuff happening down there. I can't wait for the bridge to connect Bartram's Mile to the Schuylkill River Trail! I expect that's when we'll see the area truly take off.

https://www.pennovation.upenn.edu/ne...wer-schuylkill